Device for indicating and announcing chest expansion and lung capacity.



A. R. GIBSON. DEVICE FOR INDICATING AND ANNOUNCING CHEST EXPANSION AND LUNG CAPACITY. APPLICATION FILED HAR.2'I,1912. 1,055,267. Papented Mar. 4, 1913 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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DEVICE FOR INDIOATING APPLICATION FILED MAB..27, 1912.

1,055,267. Patented Mar. 4, 1913. I 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oE IoE.

ADELBERT R. GIBSON, OF SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR INDICATING AND ANNOUNCING CHEST EXPANSION AND LUNG CAPACITY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADELBERT R. GInsoN, a citizen ,ofthe United States, and resident of Santa Monica, in the county of Los An- .geles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Indicating and Announcing Chest Expansion and Lung Capacity, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to devices for indicating, announcing and measuring chest expansion and lung evelopment, and it has reference to means whereby the device will serve as a remedial and therapeutic agent in the treatment of many diseases aside from those attributable to lung troubles.

What is known as deep breathing, is not resorted to with sufiicient persistency to pro duce the desired effect inmost instances, because there is no direct or personal interest in it to make this health giving agency a habit. Furthermore, it is most desirable in forming a habit of this character to resort to some method whereby a system may be followed, which can not only be noted from time to time, but by means of which treatment any faults may be corrected.

In lung expansion and in the muscular development which necessarily follows, the patient will find the most effective progress by doing the work gradually, and it is important that he should personally be able to know the necessary facts, and by following explicit direction, will be able to gage his efforts without undue exhaustion, until finally, the habit of deep breathing becomes a fixed one. I

To this end I havedevised a mechanism, which is applied to the body of the patient in such a manner that in breathing the apparatus not only indicates the chest expansion in inches and the cubical capacity of the expansion, but it' also audibly records the maximum point of expansion. To enable the patient to perform the work systematically the means for audibly recording the expansion may be manually adjusted so that at each respiration the sound will show when he has reached the maximum quantity which must be inhaled, and from time to time the adjustment is changed so that the expansion and quantity will be increased, such increase being, of course dependent on the condition of the patient and his natural lung capacity. In effect, therefore, the

treatment is one which will arouse the interest of the patient in a direct personal manner to make the experiment successful, and thus with a knowledge which he obtains from the device that his expansion and capacity are gradually increasing, the psypiholpgical effect, will, in itself, be most beneeia In the accompanying drawin s Figure 1 is a view of the device attache to a body. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device as it appears from the rear side. Fig. 3 is a front view of the recording and indicating mechanism, partly inv section. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the mechanism showing the manner in which the bands actuate the dial pointers. Fig. 5 is a section of the dial plate and bezel. Fig. 6'is a view of the dial plate, and Fig. 7 is a section of the spring actuated drum.

In constructing my invention I provide a bow shaped member preferably of metal,

this .member having midway between its ends a circularly-formed body 7, the branching members 8 of which open from end to end rectangular in cross section, to receive therein the straps or bands which pass around the body of the wearer. One such strap 9, projects out a short distance from one of the hollow members, while a long strap 10 projects out from the other memher, and this strap 10 has at its end a buckle 11 or any other means whereby it may be strapped around the wearer and fastened and adjusted to the short/strap 9. On the rear side of the circular member thus formed is a leather shield 12 slightly larger than the metal member which is securely fastened to the metal bow, around each end of the metal member and shield is a flexible loop 13, to which is secured a short upwardlyprojecting strap 13, the upper end of which has a metal loop 14.

A pair of straps 16 is provided each with a loop 17 at one end through which loops the long strap 10 passes. and these straps 16 extend over the shoulders of the wearer, passing down in front, and each is threaded through its corresponding metal loop 14, and back again over the shoulders, its free end being provided with a clasp 18 in engagement with the body of the strap, so that the bow member and the belt straps may be adjusted up or down on the body of the wearer.

The circular body 7 midway between the ends of the bow-shaped tubular members 8,

has a hollow circular space within and a of which is secureclto thedrum, as at 26,"

and the other end of the spring is secured to the arbor 23, as at 26'. The outer projecting end of the spindle 24 has thereon a ratchet wheel 27, with. a coacting pawl 28 which is hinged to the base 19, and this ratchet wheel and pawl are so related to the spring 25 that when the ratchet wheel is turned, for instance, to the left, the spring will be wound up, and will therefore so actuate the arbor that the arbor will turn to the left or counter-clock wise.

To the projecting head of the arbor 23 I secure two oppositely-projecting pointers, one pointer 29, being fiexible and serves a triple purpose since it acts not only as a pointer, but as a stop to hold the arbor at a fixed point in its revoluble movements,

and also to engage a stud-and produce aclicking sound during the turning of the arbor. I The stop 30, Fig. 6, projects outfrom the dial plate, so that the end of the pointer 29 rests against the same, thereby preventing the pointer from turning to the right, the spring 25. within normally holding the pointer against the stud.

The bezel 31 has an internal annular flange 32 which'fits within the circular shell 33 of the circular body 7, and this flange has in its outer sidean annular groove 34. Theshell 33 at one side has a boss 35, provided with a threaded hole in alinement with the annular. groove 34, and a thumb screw 36, within this boss has its end normally within the groove '34, so that the thumb-nut may be used to ti hten the bezel or loosened and thus permit the bezel to turn; llithin the bezel. is provided a stud 37 which projects inwardly, the end of this stud being within range of the end of the flexible pointer 29, and in such position relative thereto, that as the pointer moves past the stud will arrest the spring pointer sufiiciently to cause it to bend a limited distance before it will spring past, the vibrating action thuspro-' duced being audible. The other pointer 38 measurement and are indicated by the pointer 29, whereas the numerals on the other side of the vertical line, from 0 to 120 represent the cubical capacity in inches of the air inhaled, and the pointer 38 indicates the quantity.

For the purpose of imparting the breathing motion to the mechanism thus described the inner end of each of the straps 9, 10, has a cord 7 or cable 40 attached thereto, which eable extends past a grooved pulley or guide 41, in proximity to the drum, and extendsthence partially around the drum 25. 1 The direction of these cords around the drum is'such that when the straps 9, 10 are drawn out the drum will be turned in such a direction that the pointers will travel contra-clockwise and against the action of the spring 25.

It is obvious that, I may materially modify the structural arrangement of the dial mechanism without departing from the spirit of my invention, which consists essentially of means for indicating the chest expansion, measuring the quantity of air inhaled, and an audible device which annunciates the maximum point, at which the dial will give notice.

What- I claim as new, is:

1. In a deviceof the character described, a member adapted to be attached to a human form, means therein for indicating and annunciating chest measurement during respiration, and means which are adapted for adjusting the indicating and annunciating mechanism.

2. In a device of the character described, a member adapted to be attached .to a human form, means therein for annunciating chest measurement, and means for adjusting the annunciating mechanism.

3. In a device of the character described, a member adapted to be attached to a human form, means therein for annunciating the lung capacity during respiration, and means for adjusting the annunciating mechamsm.

4. device of the character described. comprising a member, an oppositely-proecting dial finger therein, a dial with a set of figures thereon to indicate chest expansion, and a set of figures to indicate lungcapacity, means around the body of the'wearer to transmit motion to the dial finger, and means which are adapted for .adjustingth'e member to any desired posipansion and lung capacity, a member adapted to be applied to the body of the wearer, a drum in said member, a spring dial finger carried by said drum, an adjustable stud with which the finger co-ntacts, a spring within the drum, and flexible iion-elastic connections with said drum and secured arolnd-the body of the wearer, whereby the muscular expansion and contraction may be noted.

6. In a device for indicating chest expansion and lung capacity, a member adapted to be applied to the body of the wearer, a drum, an oppositely-projecting dial finger carried by said drum, a dial with a set of figures to indicate chest measurement, and a set of figures to indicate lung capacity, a spring within the drum, flexible non-elastic connections with said drum and secured around the body of the wearer, and means co-acting with the dial finger for annunciating the maximum expansion during respiration.

7. In a device for indicating chest expansion and lung capacity, a channel bowshaped member.with a circular body midway between its ends, a drum within the circular body, a dial finger carried by said drum, flexible non-elastic connections with said drum which extend around the body of the wearer to turn the dial finger during tespiration, and straps extending over the shoulders for holding and vertically adjusting the bow-shaped member to the body of the wearer,

Signed at the city of Los Angeles county of Los Angeles State of California, this 11th day of March 1912, in the presence of witnesses.

ADELBERT R. GIBSON. Witnesses:

J. S. ZERBE, FRED J. How. 

